Carcinogenesis Advance Access originally published online on June 5, 2009
Carcinogenesis 2009 30(9):1532-1535; doi:10.1093/carcin/bgp139
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Urinary estrogen metabolites in women at high risk for breast cancer
Magee/UPCI Breast Cancer Prevention Program, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
1 Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2 SUNY Downstate School of Public Health, Brooklyn, NY, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Box 43, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA. Tel: +1 718 804 7100; Fax: +1 718 270 2533; Email: emanuela.taioli{at}downstate.edu
Objective: This study explored whether average urinary estrogen metabolites in breast cancer high-risk women can be used to identify a subgroup of women at particularly high risk to develop breast cancer, to which prevention strategies should be addressed. Methods: The population consisted of 77 high-risk women, 30 breast cancer patients and 41 controls. All subjects answered a standardized questionnaire; height and weight and spot urine samples were also obtained. Urine hydroxyestrogen metabolites were measured in triplicate by enzyme immunoassay, and the estrogen metabolite ratios for each individual were calculated. Results: The 2:16 OHE ratio (2-hydroxyestrone/16-alpha-hydroxyestrone) in women at high risk for breast cancer was similar to that observed in the breast cancer group (1.76 ± 2.33 versus 1.29 ± 0.80) and lower than in controls (2.47 ± 1.14; P = 0.00). At the multivariate linear regression model, the 2:16 OHE ratio was significantly associated with diagnosis (P = 0.000 for both the high risk and breast cancer group versus the controls) and body mass index (P = 0.005), but not with age (P = 0.604), or smoking history (P = 0.478). Conclusions: This study suggests that lower urinary 2:16 OHE ratios are predictors of breast cancer risk. Profiling estrogen metabolites may identify women who are more probably to develop breast cancer within a population of women with known risk factors and may help to further elucidate the clinical relevance of urinary 2:16 OHE ratios as clinical markers and prognostic indicators in this population.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; 2:16 OHE, 2-hydroxyestrone:16-alpha-hydroxyestrone; 16
-OHE1, 16-alpha-hydroxyestrone
Received February 20, 2009; revised May 18, 2009; accepted June 1, 2009.